大象传媒

The Royal Society for Blind Children is there for children and their families from the moment they are told they have lost their sight. Dealing with a childhood sight loss can often be lonely and confusing.聽There are an estimated 36,000 children and young people who are living with blindness and visual impairment in the UK.聽

Most parents know little about visual impairment, or may have never met anyone living with sight loss; so when their child is being diagnosed they have many questions and fears about the future.聽RSBC鈥檚 Family Support Service can be on hand when parents hear the news to offer practical advice and emotional support. With RSBC, parents develop the knowledge and confidence to help guide their child through sight loss and prepare them for adulthood.

Together, we can make sure every blind child has the self-belief and skills to fulfil the potential we know they鈥檝e got.

I am so pleased to be presenting the 大象传媒 Lifeline Appeal on behalf of the Royal Society for Blind Children. RSBC is a fantastic charity that provides essential support to children and their families who are facing the devastating and scary news that their child has lost or is losing their sight.聽

As someone whose career is based within a visual world, a life without sight is hard to imagine. I don鈥檛 know how I would maintain my career and live independently. Or how to support a child whose hopes and dreams might crumble with a sight loss diagnosis.聽

Your donation will help grow RSBC鈥檚 Family Support Service to reach more families such as Ethan鈥檚 and Amelia鈥檚. RSBC can be there to get children through times of crisis and beyond. You can help give blind children a lifeline to achieve a bright, independent future just like Charlotte.

10 year old Ethan鈥檚 positivity remains intact, despite a really turbulent couple of years since his sight began to rapidly deteriorate. His mum, Bhavna, credits the help her family have received from RSBC for stepping in to offer support and guidance when they found themselves in crisis and facing an uncertain future.

鈥淲ithin three months of being diagnosed, Ethan was registered as sight impaired. The shock and devastation consumed me. I knew I needed help in order to give Ethan the right support, but I struggled to find any organisations or support networks that felt right until I discovered RSBC.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e always worried that Ethan鈥檚 sight loss would crush his positivity and passion for life, but so far that鈥檚 not the case. His view is that everyone has problems and this is just his. I know RSBC has played a big part in that.鈥�

Amelia, 16, is a regular teenager who is excited to go to residential college with her horse, Buddy, to pursue her dream of working with horses. She also began to rapidly lose her sight at 13 years old.

Amelia鈥檚 mum, Lisa, says RSBC has been a life saver for them both: 鈥淵ou feel all these walls closing down on you. The doctors were all very clinical and there was no one who asked you how you felt about it. We were left to deal with it on our own. There was nothing out there for us as a family until RSBC stepped in.鈥�

Amelia鈥檚 main concern was that her life would have to change dramatically. 鈥淚 was worried I鈥檇 have to give up the horses. They鈥檙e not the safest animals to be around, especially if you鈥檙e blind. Sue from RSBC talks to me about thinking more positively. She helped me with my college application. I never really talk about my feelings but I鈥檒l talk to Sue.鈥�

22 year old Charlotte suddenly lost her sight four years ago.

鈥淚 lost my sight at university while I was studying nursing. I was working a placement at a hospital and I had to stop in a matter of days. It was just awful. I moved back home and thought I would never be able to work again.鈥�

鈥淩SBC helped me come to terms with my sight loss, taught me job skills and built my confidence up. Then they encouraged me to apply for an apprenticeship at the Home Office. I didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 get it but applied anyway - and got the job! It was brilliant, I felt amazing.鈥�

Before she discovered the charity, Charlotte describes herself as a quiet, unemployed and under-confident girl who didn鈥檛 know what to do with her life or how to deal with sudden sight loss: 鈥淩SBC changed my life completely. I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today without the skills they taught me.鈥�